Substrate treatment system, substrate treatment method, and computer readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

In the present invention, a plurality of heat treatment plates are provided side by side in a linear form on a base of a heat treatment apparatus in a coating and developing treatment system. In the heat treatment apparatus, three transfer member groups are provided which transfer a substrate in zones between adjacent heat treatment plates. At the time when performing a pre-baking treatment in the heat treatment apparatus, the substrate is transferred in order to the heat treatment plates at the same temperature, whereby the heat treatment is dividedly performed on the heat treatment plates. According to the present invention, substrates are subjected to heat treatment along the same route, so that the thermal histories are made uniform among the substrates.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/627,540, filed Jan. 26, 2007, and claims priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2006-034089, filed Feb. 10, 2006. The entire contents ofU.S. application Ser. No. 11/627,540 are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a substrate treatment system, asubstrate treatment method, and a computer readable storage medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a photolithography process in a manufacturing process of asemiconductor device, for example, a resist coating treatment ofapplying a resist solution, for example, to a wafer, a heat treatment ofdrying the resist solution (pre-baking treatment), a heat treatment ofaccelerating chemical reaction in the resist film after the resist filmis exposed to a predetermined pattern (post exposure-baking treatment),a developing treatment of developing the resist film, a heat treatmentof heating the wafer after the developing treatment, and so on areperformed in order, to thereby form a predetermined resist pattern onthe wafer.

A series of the above-described wafer treatments is sequentiallyperformed in a coating and developing treatment system incorporating aresist coating treatment apparatus for performing the resist coatingtreatment, a developing treatment apparatus for performing thedeveloping treatment, heat treatment apparatuses for performing theabove-described various kinds of heat treatments, a transfer unit forperforming transfer of the wafer between the treatment apparatuses.

The above-described coating and developing treatment system incorporatesa plurality of the above-described resist coating apparatuses,developing treatment apparatuses, and heat treatment apparatusesrespectively, in order to improve the throughput of the wafer treatment.At the time when performing the wafer treatment in the coating anddeveloping treatment system, a plurality of wafers are divided into aplurality of treatment apparatuses which perform the same treatment, ineach of the treatment steps, so that the plurality of wafers are treatedin parallel by those treatment apparatuses during the same time(Japanese Patent Application Laid-open. No. 2001-85323).

However, where the plurality of wafers are divided into the plurality oftreatment apparatuses as described above so that the wafers are treatedin parallel, there are individual differences between the treatmentapparatuses, thus causing variation in the state of the wafer after thetreatment depending on the treatment apparatus performing the treatment.For example, the film thickness of the resist solution varies in thecase of the resist coating treatment, and the shape and dimension of theresist film after development varies in the developing treatment.Besides, the thermal history varies in the case of the heat treatment.

In addition, even in the case of the treatment apparatuses forperforming the same kind of treatment, the transfer route and thetransfer time of the wafer vary depending on the installation positionof the treatment apparatus. This also affects the state of the waferafter the treatment.

As described above, when the wafers are divided into the plurality oftreatment apparatuses and treated in parallel, the treatment states inthe resist coating treatment, the developing treatment, the heattreatment and so on vary between the wafers to cause variation in thedimension of the finally formed resist pattern.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in consideration of the aboveviewpoints, and its object is to suppress variation in dimension of aresist pattern among substrates such as wafers.

The present invention to achieve the above object is a substratetreatment system for forming a resist pattern on a substrate, includingat least a coating treatment apparatus for applying a resist solution tothe substrate, a developing treatment apparatus for performing adeveloping treatment for the substrate, and a heat treatment apparatusfor performing a heat treatment for the substrate, wherein at least anyof the coating treatment apparatus, developing treatment apparatus, andheat treatment apparatus includes a plurality of treatment units fordividedly performing the treatment.

According to the present invention, in any of the coating treatmentapparatus, the developing treatment apparatus, and the heat treatmentapparatus, each kind of treatment can be dividedly performed in theplurality of treatment units. Accordingly, the substrates can be treatedvia the same route and history to uniform the states of the substratesafter the treatment. As a result, the variation in the finally formedresist pattern among the substrates can be suppressed.

According to another aspect, the present invention is a substratetreatment method for forming a resist pattern on a substrate, includingat least a coating treatment of applying a resist solution to thesubstrate, a substrate developing treatment, and a substrate heattreatment, wherein at least any of the coating treatment, developingtreatment, and heat treatment is performed by transferring the substratein order to a plurality of treatment units where the treatment isdividedly performed.

According to still another aspect, the present invention is a computerreadable storage medium storing a computer program when performingtreatments for a substrate using a substrate treatment system, whereinthe treatment for the substrate includes at least a coating treatment ofapplying a resist solution to the substrate, a substrate developingtreatment, and a substrate heat treatment, and wherein at least any ofthe coating treatment, developing treatment, and heat treatment isperformed by transferring the substrate in order to a plurality oftreatment units where the treatment is dividedly performed.

According to the present invention, for example, the resist patterns canbe formed uniform among the substrates to improve yields.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a configuration of acoating and developing treatment system according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing treatment system;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing treatment system;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the outline of a configuration of a heattreatment apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a base and a heat treatmentplate;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a transfermember;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a base for explainingtransfer of a wafer from a first heat treatment plate to a second heattreatment plate;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base for explainingtransfer of the wafer from the second heat treatment plate to a thirdheat treatment plate;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base for explainingtransfer of the wafer from the third heat treatment plate to a fourthheat treatment plate;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the heat treatment apparatus in the case inwhich the positions of the transfer members are changed;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the heat treatment apparatus in which aplurality of grooves are provided;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the inside of the heat treatmentapparatus in the case using transfer members having wire portions;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of a transverse section showing aconfiguration inside a holding portion of the transfer member;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the heat treatment apparatus;

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of a base and a heat treatmentplate for explaining transfer of the wafer from the first heat treatmentplate to the second heat treatment plate;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a heat treatment apparatus in the case inwhich the heat treatment plate is divided;

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the heat treatment apparatus showing adivision pattern of the heat treatment plate;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the heat treatment apparatus showing adivision pattern of the heat treatment plate;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view showing the outline of a heat treatmentapparatus in which heat treatment units are arranged in the verticaldirection;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the first heattreatment portion;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the second heattreatment unit;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the first heat treatment unit and thesecond heat treatment unit, showing the state in which the heattreatment plate is moved;

FIG. 23 is a front view of a coating and developing treatment system inwhich a resist coating apparatus having a plurality of treatment unitsis installed;

FIG. 24 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the outline of a resistcoating apparatus;

FIG. 25 is an explanatory view of a transverse section showing theoutline of the configuration of the resist coating apparatus;

FIG. 26 is a rear view of a coating and developing treatment system inwhich developing treatments apparatus having a plurality of treatmentunits are installed;

FIG. 27 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the outline of aconfiguration of a developing treatment apparatus; and

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view of a transverse section showing theoutline of a configuration of the developing treatment apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a configurationof a coating and developing treatment system 1 as a substrate treatmentsystem according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view ofthe coating and developing treatment system 1, and FIG. 3 is a rear viewof the coating and developing treatment system 1.

The coating and developing treatment system 1 has, as shown in FIG. 1, aconfiguration in which, for example, a cassette station 2 fortransferring, for example, a plurality of wafers W per cassette as aunit from/to the outside into/from the coating and developing treatmentsystem 1 and transferring the wafers W into/out of a cassette C; atreatment station 3 including a plurality of various kinds of treatmentapparatuses, which are multi-tiered, for performing various kinds oftreatments in a photolithography process; and an interface station 4 forpassing the wafer W to/from a not-shown aligner provided adjacent to thetreatment station 3, are integrally connected.

In the cassette station 2, a cassette mounting table 10 is providedwhich mounts a plurality of cassettes C thereon. In the cassette station2, a wafer transfer body 11 is further provided which transfers thewafer W, for example, between the cassette C and a later-described maintransfer unit 23 in the treatment station 3.

In the treatment station 3, a transfer section 20 is formed extending ina Y-direction (in a left-to-right direction in FIG. 1) at the middleportion. Two treatment regions 21 and 22 housing the plurality oftreatment apparatuses are arranged on both sides in an X-direction (atop-to-bottom direction in FIG. 1) of the transfer section 20. In thetransfer section 20, the main transfer unit 23 movable in theY-direction is provided and can transfer the wafer W between arbitrarytreatment apparatuses in the later-described first and second treatmentregions 21 and 22. The main transfer unit 23 can also transfer the waferW from/to various kinds of treatment apparatuses in the first and secondtreatment regions 21 and 22 to/from the wafer transfer body 11 in thecassette station 2 and a wafer transfer body 151 in the interfacestation 4.

The first treatment region 21 is provided on the front side being thenegative direction side in the X-direction (the downward direction inFIG. 1) in the treatment station 3. The first treatment region 21 has,for example, a vertically six-tiered structure as shown in FIG. 2, asingle treatment apparatus or a plurality of treatment apparatuses beingmounted on each tier. For example, on a first tier A1 being thelowermost tier, three bottom coating apparatuses 30, 31 and 32 each forforming an anti-reflection film to prevent reflection of light at thetime of exposure processing are provided in order from the cassettestation 2 side toward the interface station 4 side (the positivedirection side in the Y-direction). On a second tier A2, three resistcoating apparatuses 40, 41, and 42 each for applying a resist solutionto the wafer W are provided in order toward the positive direction sidein the Y-direction.

On a third tier A3 and a fourth tier A4, heat treatment apparatuses 50and 60 to which the present invention is applied are provided. On afifth tier A5, for example, an adhesion apparatus 70 for performinghydrophobic treatment on the wafer W and three cooling apparatuses 71,72, and 73 each for cooling the wafer W are provided in order toward thepositive direction side in the Y-direction. On a sixth tier A6, forexample, an adhesion apparatus 80 and cooling apparatuses 81, 82, and 83are provided, as in the fifth tier A5, in order toward the positivedirection side in the Y-direction.

The second treatment region 22 is provided on the rear side being thepositive direction side in the X-direction (the upward direction inFIG. 1) in the treatment station 3. The second treatment region 22 has,for example, a vertically six-tiered structure as in the first treatmentregion 21 as shown in FIG. 3, a single treatment apparatus or aplurality of treatment apparatuses being mounted on each tier. Forexample, on a first tier B1 being the lowermost tier, for example, threedeveloping treatment apparatuses 90, 91, and 92 each for performingdeveloping treatment on the wafer W are provided in order toward thepositive direction side in the Y-direction. On a second tier B2, threedeveloping treatment apparatuses 100, 101, and 102 are provided, forexample, as in the first tier B1, in order toward the positive directionside in the Y-direction.

On a third tier B3 and a fourth tier B4, heat treatment apparatuses 110and 120 are provided. On a fifth tier B5, for example, four coolingapparatuses 130, 131, 132, and 133 are provided in order toward thefront direction side in the Y-direction. On a sixth tier B6, forexample, four cooling apparatuses 140, 141, 142, and 143 are provided,as in the fifth tier B5, in order toward the positive direction side inthe Y-direction.

In the interface station 4, for example, an edge exposure apparatus 150is provided which exposes the edge portion of the wafer W to light, forexample, as shown in FIG. 1. Further, at the middle portion of theinterface station 4, the wafer transfer body 151 is provided whichtransfers the wafer W between the above-described main transfer unit 23and the edge exposure apparatus 150 and the not-shown aligner.

Next, the configuration of the above-described heat treatment apparatus50 will be described. The heat treatment apparatus 50 has a base 160 ina flat plate elongated in the Y-direction as shown in FIG. 4. On thebase 160, for example, four heat treatment plates 161, 162, 163, and 164as the heat treatment apparatuses each for mounting and heating thewafer W thereon are provided side by side in order toward the positivedirection side in the Y-direction.

For example, the first heat treatment plate 161 is formed in a thickdisk shape as shown in FIG. 5. Inside the first heat treatment plate161, a heater 165 is embedded which generates heat by power feeding. Theheater 165 can be used to set the first heat treatment plate 161 to apredetermined temperature. The other second heat treatment plate 162,third heat treatment plate 163, and fourth heat treatment plate 164 havethe same configuration as that of the first heat treatment plate 161,each having a disk shape and including the heater 165 therein. Note thatcontrol of the temperature of each of the heat treatment plates 161 to164 is conducted by, for example, a later-described control unit 190.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front surface of the base 160 is formed with twogrooves 170 extending in parallel in the Y-direction. The grooves 170are formed passing under the heat treatment plates 161 to 164. In thegrooves 170, a first transfer member group D1 for transferring the waferW between the first heat treatment plate 161 and the second heattreatment plate 162, a second transfer member group D2 for transferringthe wafer W between the second heat treatment plate 162 and the thirdheat treatment plate 163, and a third transfer member group D3 fortransferring the wafer W between the third heat treatment plate 163 andthe fourth heat treatment plate 164 are provided.

The first transfer member group D1 is composed of, for example, fourtransfer members 180. The transfer members 180 are arranged, two eachfor one groove 170. Each of the transfer members 180 includes, forexample, as shown in FIG. 6, a slider portion 180 a in a square flatplate form and a pin portion 180 b provided at the slider portion 180 a.The pin portion 180 b is provided in a hole 180 c formed, for example,at the center of the slider 180 a and can be raised and lowered, forexample, by a raising and lowering drive portion 180 d such as acylinder embedded in the slider portion 180 a. The pin portions 180 bcan protrude from within the grooves 170 to positions above the heattreatment plates 161 and 162. The slider portion 180 a can horizontallymove in the groove 170, for example, by means of a horizontal driveportion 180 e such as an embedded motor. The transfer members 180 in thefirst transfer member group D1 can move the slider portions 180 a in theY-direction while supporting the wafer W by the pin portions 180 b tothereby transfer the wafer W between the first heat treatment plate 161and the second heat treatment plate 162.

The second transfer member group D2 and the third transfer member groupD3 have the same configuration as that of the above-described firsttransfer member group D1. The second transfer member group D2 iscomposed of four transfer members 181, each of the transfer members 181having a slider portion 181 a, a pin portion 181 b, a hole 181 c, araising and lowering drive portion 181 d, and a horizontal drive portion181 e as shown in FIG. 6. The third transfer member group D3 is composedof four transfer members 182, each of the transfer members 182 having aslider portion 182 a, a pin portion 182 b, a hole 182 c, a raising andlowering drive portion 182 d, and a horizontal drive portion 181 e. Notethat the first to third transfer member groups D1 to D3 constitute asubstrate transfer mechanism in this embodiment.

The heat treatment apparatuses 60, 110, and 120 have the sameconfiguration as that of the above-described heat treatment apparatus 50in this embodiment and therefore their description will be omitted.

The control of the wafer treatment performed in the coating anddeveloping treatment system 1 as described above is conducted by thecontrol unit 190 provided in the cassette station 2, for example, asshown in FIG. 1. The control unit 190 is, for example, a computer andhas a program storage unit. The program storage unit stores a program Pto control the operations of the heaters 165 in the heat treatmentplates 161 to 164 in the above-described heat treatment apparatus 50 andthe transfer members 180 to 182 so as to execute the wafer treatmentfollowing a predetermined recipe. Note that the program P may berecorded on a computer readable recording medium and installed from therecording medium into the control unit 190.

Next, the treatment process performed in the coating and developingtreatment system 1 configured as described above will be described.

First of all, a plurality of wafers W are successively taken out of thecassette C on the cassette mounting table 10 and delivered to the maintransfer unit 23 in the treatment station 3 by the wafer transfer body11. The wafers W are transferred one by one by the main transfer unit23, for example, to the adhesion apparatus 80 on the sixth tier A6 inthe first treatment region 21 where the wafer W is subjected tohydrophobic treatment, and then transferred to the cooling apparatus 81.The wafer W is then transferred, for example, to the resist coatingapparatus 40 on the second tier A2 where a resist film is formed on thewafer W. The wafers W with the resist film formed thereon aretransferred one by one by the main transfer unit 23 to the heattreatment apparatus 50 on the third tier A3 where the wafer W issubjected to heat treatment (pre-baking treatment). The pre-bakingtreatment in this embodiment shall perform heating for the wafer W at aset temperature of T° C. for S seconds.

The wafers W with the resist film formed thereon are transferred one byone by the main transfer unit 23 to the first heat treatment plate 161lying on the negative direction side in the Y-direction in the heattreatment apparatus 50 as shown in FIG. 1. The wafer W in this event isdelivered from the main transfer unit 23 to the pin portions 180 b ofthe transfer members 180 in the first transfer member group D1 whichhave been previously raised and waiting as shown in FIG. 7. The pinportions 180 b are then lowered so that the wafer W is mounted on thefirst heat treatment plate 161 which is temperature-set at T° C. Thewafer W is heated on the first heat treatment plate 161, for example,for S/4 seconds. After completion of the heating, the pins portions 180b are raised to lift the wafer W from the first heat treatment plate161. Subsequently, the slider portions 180 a of the transfer members 180are moved to the positive direction side in the Y-direction to move thewafer W to a position above the second heat treatment plate 162 (shownby a dotted line in FIG. 7). The pin portions 180 b of the transfermembers 180 are lowered so that the wafer W is mounted on the secondheat treatment plate 162 which is temperature-set at T° C.

The wafer W mounted on the second heat treatment plate 162 is heatedhere also for S/4 seconds. During this time, the first transfer members180 of the first transfer member group D1 are returned to the initialpositions at the first heat treatment plate 161 and wait to receive thenext wafer W. Further, the transfer members 181 of the second transfermember group D2 are moved to the positions at the second heat treatmentplate 162 and wait there.

The wafer W on the second heat treatment plate 162 is then lifted by thepin portions 181 b of the transfer members 181 as shown in FIG. 8.Subsequently, the slider portions 181 a are moved to the positivedirection side in the Y-direction to move the wafer W to a positionabove the third heat treatment plate 163. The pin portions 181 b arelowered so that the wafer W is mounted on the third heat treatment plate163 which is temperature-set at T° C.

The wafer W mounted on the third heat treatment plate 163 is heated forS/4 seconds. During this time, the second transfer members 181 of thesecond transfer member group D2 are returned to the original positionsat the second heat treatment plate 162 and wait to receive the nextwafer W. Further, the transfer members 182 of the third transfer membergroup D3 are moved to the positions at the third heat treatment plate163 and wait there.

The wafer W on the third heat treatment plate 163 is then lifted by thepin portions 182 b of the transfer members 182 as shown in FIG. 9.Subsequently, the slider portions 182 a are moved to the positivedirection side in the Y-direction to move the wafer W to a positionabove the fourth heat treatment plate 164. The pin portions 182 b arelowered so that the wafer W is mounted on the fourth heat treatmentplate 164 which is temperature-set at T° C. and heated for S/4 seconds.

After completion of the heating by the heat treatment plate 164, thewafer W is lifted by the pins portions 182 b of the transfer members 182and delivered to the main transfer unit 23. The wafer W is thentransferred out of the heat treatment apparatus 50, with which thepre-baking treatment at T° C. for S seconds in total for the wafer Wends. To the heat treatment apparatus 50, the wafers W are successivelyinserted, and those wafers W are successively transferred to the heattreatment plates 161 to 164 in series. As described above, a pluralityof wafers W are successively treated during the same time in the heattreatment apparatus 50.

The wafer W for which the pre-baking treatment has been completed istransferred by the main transfer unit 23, for example, to the coolingapparatus 82 on the sixth tier A6 and cooled there. The wafer W is thendelivered to the wafer transfer body 151 in the interface station 4,subjected to edge exposure processing in the edge exposure apparatus150, and then transferred to the aligner. The wafer W for which theexposure processing in the aligner has been completed is returned by thewafer transfer body 151 into the treatment station 3, and transferred bythe main transfer unit 23, for example, to the heat treatment apparatus110 on the third tier B3 in the second treatment region 22. In the heattreatment apparatus 110, a plurality of wafers W are transferred one byone to the heat treatment plates, as in the above-described heattreatment apparatus 50, where the wafers W are subjected topredetermined heat treatment (post-exposure baking treatment).

The wafer W for which the post-exposure baking treatment has beecompleted is transferred by the main transfer unit 23, for example, tothe cooling apparatus 140 on the sixth tier B6 and cooled there, and thewafer W is then transferred, for example, to the developing treatmentapparatus 100 on the second tier B2 where it is subjected to developingtreatment. The wafer W for which the developing treatment has beencompleted is transferred to the heat treatment apparatus 120 on thefourth tier B4, where a plurality of wafers W are transferred one by oneto the heat treatment plates, as in the above-described heat treatmentapparatus 50, where the wafers W are subjected to predetermined heattreatment (post-baking treatment).

The wafer W is then transferred by the main transfer unit 23, forexample, to the cooling apparatus 130 on the fifth tier B5 and cooledthere, and the wafer W is then delivered by the main transfer unit 23 tothe wafer transfer body 11 in the cassette station 2. The wafer W isthen returned by the wafer transfer body 11 into the cassette C, withwhich a series of wafer treatments for forming a resist pattern ends.

According to the above embodiment, the four heat treatment plates 161 to164 arranged in series in the heat treatment apparatus 50 are providedso that the pre-baking treatment can be dividedly performed on the heattreatment plates 161 to 164. In this case, every wafer W can passthrough the same route for heat treatment, thus preventing variationamong wafers in thermal history. As a result, the variation among wafersW in a dimension of the resist pattern finally formed on the wafer W canbe prevented. Further, since the transfer member groups D1 to D3 areprovided which transfer the wafer W in zones between adjacent heattreatment plates 161 to 164 in the heat treatment apparatus 50, thewafers W can be transferred one by one to the heat treatment plates 161to 164 so that a plurality of wafers W can be successively treatedduring the same time. As a result, a decrease in throughput due to oneheat treatment divided and performed in series can be also prevented.

While the transfer members 180 to 182 for transferring the wafer Wbetween the heat treatment plates 161 to 164 support the same positionwithin the wafer in the above embodiment, the transfer members 180, 181,and 182 may support different positions within the wafer. For example,as shown in FIG. 10, the transfer members 181 of the second transfermember group D2 support positions closer to the outer periphery of thewafer W than the transfer members 180 of the first transfer member groupD1, and the transfer members 182 of the third transfer member group D3support positions closer to the center of the wafer W than the transfermembers 180 of the first transfer member group D1. With thisarrangement, the contact position between the wafer W and each of thetransfer members 180, 181 and 182 can be changed when the wafer W isheated on the four heat treatment plates 161 to 164 in sequence, therebypreventing a decrease in temperature of a part of the wafer W due to acontact with the transfer members 180 to 182 to prevent variation intemperature within the wafer. As a result, the heat treatment of thewafer W is uniformly performed within the wafer.

Further, grooves 190, 191, and 192, which are different in position inthe X-direction on the base 160, may be provided two each in respectivezones between adjacent heat treatment plates 161 to 164 as shown in FIG.11, and the transfer members 180, 181, and 182 may be provided in thegrooves 190, 191 and 192, respectively. This also makes it possible toshift in the X-direction the position where each of the transfer members180 to 182 supports the wafer W.

While the transfer members 180 to 182 support the wafer W using theirpin portions in the above embodiment, the wafer W may be supported by aplurality of wire portions. In this case, transfer members 200, 201 and202 each having wire portions are provided, for example, in respectivezones between adjacent heat treatment plates 161 to 164 as shown in FIG.12. For example, the first transfer member 200 includes two wireportions 200 a formed along the X-direction above the base 160 andholding portions 200 b for holding end portions of the wire portions 200a on both side surfaces of the base 160. For example, the holdingportion 200 b can be raised and lowered, for example, by a raising andlowering drive portion 200 c such as a cylinder provided therein. Theholding portion 200 b is provided on a rail 210 formed in theY-direction, for example, on the side surface of the base 160 and can bemoved on the rail 210, for example, by a horizontal drive portion 200 dsuch as a motor provided in the holding portion 200 b.

Inside the holding portion 200 b, for example, two movable bodies 200 gmoving in the Y-direction on guide shafts 200 f by means of motors 200e, for example, as shown in FIG. 13. The movable bodies 200 g hold thewire portions 200 a one each. This arrangement allows the two wireportions 200 a to open/close right and left, so that the two wireportions 200 a open to allow the wafer W to pass through the spacetherebetween in the vertical direction.

The other second transfer member 201 and the third transfer member 202have the same configuration as that of the first transfer member 200.For example, the second transfer member 201 includes, as shown in FIG.12 and FIG. 13, wire portions 201 a, holding portions 201 b, raising andlowering drive portions 201 c, horizontal drive portions 201 d, motors201 e, guide shafts 201 f, and movable bodies 201 g. The third transfermember 202 includes wire portions 202 a, holding portions 202 b, raisingand lowering drive portions 202 c, horizontal drive portions 202 d,motors 202 e, guide shafts 202 f, and movable bodies 202 g.

At the middle portions of the heat treatment plates 161 to 164, as shownin FIG. 14, a plurality of holes 220 are formed, in which raising andlowering pins 221 a, 221 b, 221 c and 221 d are provided, respectively,which rise and lower while supporting the wafer W.

When performing the heat treatment in the heat treatment apparatus 50,the wafer W is first delivered from the main transfer unit 23 to theraising and lowering pins 221 a of the first heat treatment plate 161which have been previously raised and waiting, and mounted on the firstheat treatment plate 161 by the raising and lowering pins 221 a. In thisevent, the two wire portions 200 a of the first transfer member 200 areopened wider than the diameter of the wafer W above the first heattreatment plate 161 as shown in FIG. 15 (the positions of the wireportions 200 a in this event are shown by dotted lines above the firstheat treatment plate 161 in FIG. 15). After completion of the heating onthe first heat treatment plate 161, the wafer W is lifted by the raisingand lowering pins 221 a. Thereafter, the spacing between the two wireportions 200 a is reduced so that the wire portions 200 a are located onthe lower surface side of the wafer W. In this state, for example, thewire portions 200 a are raised so the wafer W is supported on the wireportions 200 a (the positions of the wire portions 200 a at this timeare shown by solid lines above the heat treatment plate 161 in FIG. 15).

When the wafer W is supported on the wire portions 200 a, the holdingportions 200 b are moved in the Y-direction to move the wafer W to aposition above the second heat treatment plate 162 (the positions of thewire portions 200 a at this time are shown by dotted lines above theheat treatment plate 162 in FIG. 15). Subsequently, for example, thewire portions 200 a are lowered so that the wafer W is supported on theraising and lowering pins 221 b which have been previously raised andwaiting. Thereafter, the two wire portions 200 a are separated again toretract to the outside of the wafer W (the positions of the wireportions 200 a at this time are shown by solid lines above the heattreatment plate 162 in FIG. 15). The raising and lowering pins 221 b arethen lowered to mount the wafer W on the second heat treatment plate162. The wire portions 200 a are returned from above the second heattreatment plate 162 to above the first heat treatment plate 161 and waitto transfer the next wafer W.

The wafer W mounted on the second heat treatment plate 162 is heated fora predetermined time and then lifted by the raising and lowering pins221 b. Thereafter, the wafer W is delivered to the wire portions 201 aof the second transfer members 201, transferred to a position above thethird heat treatment plate 163 and delivered to the raising and loweringpins 221 c of the third heat treatment plate 163, similarly to theabove-described transfer of the wafer W by the first transfer members200. The wafer W is then mounted on the third heat treatment plate 163by the raising and lowering pins 221 c and heated.

Thereafter, the wafer W is similarly transferred to a position above thefourth heat treatment plate 164 by the raising and lowering pins 221 cand the third transfer members 202 and delivered to the raising andlowering pins 221 d of the fourth heat treatment plate 164. The wafer Wis then mounted on the fourth heat treatment plate 164 by the raisingand lowering pins 221 d and heated. The wafer W for which the heatinghas been completed is delivered from the raising and lowering pins 221 dto the main transfer unit 23, with which a series of heat treatmentsteps ends.

According to this example, the transfer of the wafer W between the heattreatment plates 161 to 164 can also be appropriately performed by thetransfer members 200, 201, and 202 having the wire portions. Further,since the wire portions 200 a, 201 a, and 202 a are used to support thewafer W, the contact area between the wire portions and the wafer W canbe small to prevent non-uniformity in temperature within the wafer dueto thermal influence by the transfer members 200, 201 and 202.

In the example using the above-described transfer members 200 to 202having the wire portions, the positions to support the wafer W of thetransfer members 200, 201 and 202 may be changed from each other. Inthis case, the respective spaces between the two wire portions 200 a,201 a, and 202 a may be changed to change their positions to contactwith the wafer W. This arrangement can prevent variation in temperaturewithin the wafer due to the thermal influence by the transfer members200 to 202, resulting in uniform heating of the wafer W.

Each of the heat treatment plates 161 to 164 described in the aboveembodiment may be divided into a plurality of regions so that thetemperature control may be conducted for each of the regions of each ofthe heat treatment plates 161 to 164. FIG. 16 shows such an example, inwhich, for example, each of the heat treatment plates 161 to 164 isdivided radially in radial directions into four regions R1, R2, R3 andR4, and a discrete heater 230 is provided for each of the regions R1 toR4. All of the heaters 230 in the regions R1 to R4 of each of the heattreatment plates 161 to 164 are separately controlled, for example, bythe control unit 190 so that the regions R1 to R4 of each of the heattreatment plates 161 to 164 are individually controlled in temperature.The temperature control of the heat treatment plates 161 to 164 by thecontrol unit 190 is conducted such that thermal histories within thewafer W transferred to all of the heat treatment plates 161 to 164 areuniform.

In this case, the non-uniformity in temperature occurring within thewafer, for example, by one heat treatment plate can be corrected bytemperature setting of the regions R1 to R4 of the plurality of heattreatment plates 161 to 164 to even out the final thermal historieswithin the wafer W. As a result, the dimension of the resist patternfinally formed on the wafer W can be made uniform within the wafer.

At least one heat treatment plate of the heat treatment plates 161 to164 may be different in division pattern. For example, when the first tothird heat treatment plate 161 to 163 are radially divided as shown inFIG. 17, the fourth heat treatment plate 164 may be concentricallydivided into multiple circles. Further, for example, the fourth heattreatment plate 164 may be divided by a plurality of parallel straightlines as shown in FIG. 18. Use of the heat treatment plates in thedifferent division patterns in combination as described above allowsmore precise correction in temperature within the wafer so as to makethe thermal histories within the wafer uniform more precisely. The shapeof the division pattern and the combination of division patterns can bearbitrarily selected, and, for example, the division patterns of all ofthe heat treatment plates may be different.

While the heat treatment plates 161 to 164 in the heat treatmentapparatus 50 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction inthe above embodiment, they may be arranged one above the other in thevertical direction. In this case, for example, four heat treatment units250, 251, 252 and 253 as shown in FIG. 19 are arranged one above theother in the vertical direction. The heat treatment units 250 to 253 areplaced, for example, alternately in the right-to-left direction (theY-direction) from the bottom to the above in a staggered arrangement.

The first heat treatment unit 250 on the lowermost tier includes, forexample, a base 250 a and a heat treatment plate 250 b provided on thebase 250 a as shown in FIG. 20. At the center of the heat treatmentplate 250 b, a plurality of holes 250 c are formed, and raising andlowering pins 250 d, each of which can rise and lower to/from positionsabove the heat treatment plate 250 b, are provided in the holes 250 c.

The second heat treatment unit 251 on the second tier from the bottomincludes, similarly to the first heat treatment unit 250, a base 251 a,a heat treatment plate 251 b, holes 251 c, and raising and lowering pins251 d, for example, as shown in FIG. 21. The heat treatment plate 251 bof the second heat treatment unit 251 is movable in the positivedirection of the Y-direction with respect to the base 251 a and canprotrude to a position above the first heat treatment unit 250 as shownin FIG. 22. The heat treatment plate 251 b is formed with cutouts 251 eleading from the end portion on the positive direction side in theY-direction to the holes 251 c. The cutouts 251 e can prevent the heattreatment plate 251 b from interfering with the raising and loweringpins 250 d of the first heat treatment unit 250 when the heat treatmentplate 251 b protrudes the position above the first heat treatment unit250.

The third heat treatment unit 252 and the fourth treatment unit 253 havethe configuration as that of the second heat treatment unit 251. Thethird heat treatment unit 252 includes a base 252 a, a heat treatmentplate 252 b, holes 252 c, raising and lowering pins 252 d, and cutouts252 e as shown in FIG. 21. The heat treatment plate 252 b can move to aposition above the second heat treatment unit 251 on the negativedirection side in the Y-direction with respect to the base 252 a. Thefourth heat treatment unit 253 includes a base 253 a, a heat treatmentplate 253 b, holes 253 c, raising and lowering pins 253 d, and cutouts253 e. The heat treatment plate 253 b can move to a position above thethird heat treatment unit 252 on the position direction side in theY-direction with respect to the base 253 a.

At the time when the pre-baking treatment is performed in the heattreatment apparatus 50, the wafer W is first mounted and heated on theheat treatment plate 250 b of the first heat treatment unit 250. FIG. 19shows the moving route of the wafer W in this heat treatment.Thereafter, the wafer W is lifted by the raising and lowering pins 250 dto the same height as that of the second heat treatment unit 251 asshown in FIG. 22. The heat treatment plate 251 a of the second heattreatment unit 251 horizontally moves in the positive direction of theY-direction to a position under the wafer W. Subsequently, the raisingand lowering pins 250 d are lowered to mount the wafer W on the heattreatment plate 251 b. The heat treatment plate 251 b is returned ontothe base 251 a so that the wafer W is heated.

After completion of the heating by the second heat treatment unit 251,the wafer W is lifted by the raising and lowering pins 251 d to the sameheight as that of the third heat treatment unit 252. Next, the heattreatment plate 252 b of the third heat treatment unit 252 horizontallymoves to the negative direction side in the Y-direction to a positionunder the wafer W. Thereafter, the raising and lowering pins 251 d arelowered to mount the wafer W on the heat treatment plate 252 b, and theheat treatment plate 252 b is returned onto the base 252 a so that thewafer W is heated.

After completion of the heating by the third heat treatment unit 252 inthe similar manner, the wafer W is lifted by the raising and loweringpins 252 d to the same height as that of the fourth heat treatment unit253. Thereafter, the heat treatment plate 253 b of the fourth heattreatment unit 253 moves to the positive direction side in theY-direction to a position under the wafer W. The raising and loweringpins 252 d are lowered to mount the wafer W on the heat treatment plate253 b, and the heat treatment plate 253 b is returned onto the base 253a so that the wafer W is heated. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferredout of the fourth heat treatment unit 253, with which a series ofpre-baking treatment steps ends.

The pre-baking treatment can be dividedly performed and every wafer W issubjected to heat treatment through the same route also in this example,thus reducing variation among the wafers in the finally formed resistpattern.

While the pre-baking treatment is divided into four parts using the fourheat treatment plates in the above embodiment, the number of dividedtreatment parts is not limited to four but can be arbitrarily selected.

While an example in which the pre-baking treatment after the resistcoating treatment is divided is mainly described in the aboveembodiment, other heat treatments performed in the coating anddeveloping treatment system 1, for example, the post exposure-bakingtreatment and the post-baking treatment may be dividedly performed.Alternatively, the cooling treatment performed in the coating anddeveloping treatment system 1 may be dividedly performed.

Further, while the heat treatment performed in the coating anddeveloping treatment system 1 is dividedly performed in the aboveembodiment, the resist coating treatment may be dividedly performed. Inthis case, for example, one resist coating apparatus 260 is provided onthe second tier A2 of the first treatment region 21 in the treatmentstation 3 of the coating and developing treatment system 1 as shown inFIG. 23. The resist coating apparatus 260 includes, for example, adischarge treatment unit 261, a spread treatment unit 262, and a dryingtreatment unit 263 being three treatment units in a casing 260 a asshown in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25. The discharge treatment unit 261, thespread treatment unit 262, and the drying treatment unit 263 areprovided, for example, side by side in this order toward the positivedirection side in the Y-direction.

The discharge treatment unit 261 includes a chuck 261 a, for example,for horizontally holding the wafer W. Above the central portion of thechuck 261 a, a first nozzle 261 b for discharging the resist solution isprovided. The first nozzle 261 b is connected to a resist solutionsupply source 261 d, for example, via a supply pipe 261 c.

The spread treatment unit 262 includes, for example, a spin chuck 262 afor horizontally holding and rotating the wafer W. Around the spin chuck262 a, a cup 262 b is provided which receives the liquid scattering ordropping from the wafer W for collection. To the lower surface of thecup 262 b, a drainage pipe 262 c for draining the collected liquid andan exhaust pipe 262 d for exhausting the atmosphere in the cup 262 b areconnected.

The drying treatment unit 263 includes, for example, a spin chuck 263 afor horizontally holding and rotating the wafer W. Around the spin chuck263 a, a cup 263 b is provided. To the lower surface of the cup 263 b, adrainage pipe 263 c and an exhaust pipe 263 d are connected. Above theperipheral portion of the wafer W held on the spin chuck 263 a, a secondnozzle 263 e for discharging the solvent for the resist solution isprovided. The second nozzle 263 e is connected to a solvent supplysource 263 g, for example, via a supply pipe 263 f. This allows thesolvent to be discharged from the second nozzle 263 e to the peripheralportion of the wafer W so as to dissolve the resist solution at theperipheral portion of the wafer W for removal.

The resist coating apparatus 260 is configured as described above. Atthe time when performing the resist coating treatment in the resistcoating apparatus 260, the wafer W is first transferred by the maintransfer unit 23 to the discharge treatment unit 261 in the resistcoating apparatus 260. In the discharge treatment unit 261, the wafer Wis suction-held on the chuck 261 a, and a predetermined amount of resistsolution is supplied from the first nozzle 261 b onto the centralportion of the wafer W.

Next, the wafer W is transferred, for example, by the main transfer unit23 to the spread treatment unit 262. In the spread treatment unit 262,the wafer W is suction-held on the spin chuck 262 a and rotated at apredetermined rotation speed. This spreads the resist solution on thewafer W outward to form a resist film with a predetermined thickness onthe front surface of the wafer W.

Subsequently, the wafer W is transferred, for example, by the maintransfer unit 23 to the drying treatment unit 263. In the dryingtreatment unit 263, the wafer W is suction-held on the spin chuck 263 aand rotated at a high speed. This dries the resist film on the wafer W.Further, the solvent is supplied from the second nozzle 263 e to theperipheral portion of the wafer W to remove the unnecessary resist filmat the peripheral portion of the wafer W.

The wafer W for which the drying treatment has been completed in thedrying treatment unit 263 is transferred out of the resist coatingapparatus 260 by the main transfer unit 23, with which a series ofresist coating steps ends. Into the resist coating apparatus 260, thewafers W are successively transferred, for example, by the main transferunit 23, and the wafers W are transferred to the treatment units 261,262, and 263 in order where a plurality of wafers W are successivelytreated during the same time.

According to this example, the resist coating treatment can be dividedlyperformed in the three treatment units 261 to 263. In this case, thewafers W are subjected to the resist coating treatment through the sameroute, so that the resist films with the same thickness can be formed onthe wafers W. As a result of forming the resist films with the samethickness among the wafers, the exposure processing and the developingtreatment thereafter can be uniformly performed to uniform the resistpatterns finally formed on the wafers W.

Note that while the transfer of the wafer W between the three treatmentunits 261 to 263 is performed by the main transfer unit 23 in the aboveexample, a sub-transfer unit may be provided in the resist coatingapparatus 260 so that the sub-transfer unit is used to transfer thewafers W to the treatment units 261, 262, and 263 in order.

Other than the resist coating treatment, the developing treatmentperformed in the coating and developing treatment system 1 may bedividedly performed. In this case, developing treatment apparatuses 270are provided respectively, for example, on the first tier B1 and thesecond tier B2 of the second treatment region 22 in the treatmentstation 3 in the coating and developing treatment system 1 as shown inFIG. 26. The developing treatment apparatus 270 includes, for example, adeveloping solution supply treatment unit 271, a cleaning solutionsupply treatment unit 272, and a drying treatment unit 273 being threetreatment units in a casing 270 a as shown in FIG. 27 and FIG. 28. Thedeveloping solution supply treatment unit 271, the cleaning solutionsupply treatment unit 272, and the drying treatment unit 273 areprovided, for example, side by side in this order toward the positivedirection side in the Y-direction.

The developing solution supply treatment unit 271 includes a spin chuck271 a, for example, for horizontally holding and rotating the wafer W.Above the central portion of the spin chuck 271 a, for example, a firstnozzle 271 b for discharging the developing solution is provided. Thefirst nozzle 271 b is connected to a developing solution supply source271 d, for example, via a supply pipe 271 c. Around the spin chuck 271a, a cup 271 e is provided which receives the liquid scattering ordropping from the wafer W for collection. To the lower surface of thecup 271 e, a drainage pipe 271 f for draining the collected liquid andan exhaust pipe 271 g for exhausting the atmosphere in the cup 271 e areconnected.

The cleaning solution supply treatment unit 272 includes a spin chuck272 a, for example, for horizontally holding and rotating the wafer W.Above the central portion of the spin chuck 272 a, a second nozzle 272 bfor discharging the cleaning solution such as pure water is provided.The second nozzle 272 b is connected to a cleaning solution supplysource 272 d, for example, via a supply pipe 272 c. Around the spinchuck 272 a, a cup 272 e is provided. To the lower surface of the cup272 e, a drainage pipe 272 f and an exhaust pipe 272 g are connected.

The drying treatment unit 273 includes, for example, a spin chuck 273 afor horizontally holding and rotating the wafer W. Around the spin chuck273 a, a cup 273 b is provided. To the lower surface of the cup 273 b, adrainage pipe 273 c and an exhaust pipe 273 d are connected.

The developing treatment apparatus 270 is configured as described above.At the time when the developing treatment is performed in the developingtreatment apparatus 270, the wafer W is first transferred by the maintransfer unit 23 to the developing solution supply treatment unit 271.In the developing solution supply treatment unit 271, the wafer W issuction-held on the chuck 271 a and rotated at a predetermined rotationspeed. To the central portion of the rotated wafer W, the developingsolution is supplied from the first nozzle 271 b. This supplies thedeveloping solution over the entire surface of the wafer W.

Next, the wafer W is transferred, for example, by the main transfer unit23 to the cleaning solution supply treatment unit 272. In the cleaningsolution supply treatment unit 272, the wafer W is suction-held on thespin chuck 272 a and rotated. To the central portion of the rotatedwafer W, the cleaning solution is supplied from the second nozzle 272 b.This replaces the developing solution on the wafer W with the cleaningsolution to stop the development.

Subsequently, the wafer W is transferred, for example, by the maintransfer unit 23 to the drying treatment apparatus 273. In the dryingtreatment apparatus 273, the wafer W is suction-held on the spin chuck273 a and rotated at a high speed. This shakes off the cleaning solutionon the wafer W to thereby dry the wafer W.

The wafer W for which the drying treatment in the drying treatment unit273 has been completed is transferred out of the developing treatmentapparatus 270 by the main transfer unit 23, with which a series ofdeveloping treatment steps ends. Into the developing treatment apparatus270, the wafers W are successively transferred, for example, by the maintransfer unit 23, and the wafers W are transferred to the treatmentunits 271, 272, and 273 in order where a plurality of wafers W aresuccessively treated during the same time.

According to this example, the developing treatment can be dividedlyperformed in the three treatment units 271 to 273. In this case, thewafers W are subjected to the developing treatment through the sameroute, so that the resist films on the wafers W are subjected to thesame development. This results in reduced variation among wafers in thefinally resist pattern formed on the wafer W.

Note that while the transfer of the wafer W between the three treatmentapparatuses 271 to 273 is performed by the main transfer unit 23 in theabove example, a sub-transfer unit may be provided in the developingtreatment apparatus 270 so that the sub-transfer unit is used totransfer the wafers W to the treatment units 271, 272, and 273 in order.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described abovewith reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present inventionis not limited to the embodiments. It should be understood that variouschanges and modifications are readily apparent to those skilled in theart within the scope of the technical spirit as set forth in claims, andthose should also be covered by the technical scope of the presentinvention.

While, for example, the heat treatment such as the pre-baking treatment,the post exposure-baking treatment, or the post-baking treatment, theresist coating treatment, or the developing treatment is dividedlyperformed in a plurality of treatment units in the above embodiments,the present invention is not limited to such treatment, but othertreatments in the photolithography process performed in the coating anddeveloping treatment system 1, may be dividedly performed in a pluralityof treatment units. If, for example, a bottom coating treatment isperformed before the resist coating treatment, the bottom coatingtreatment and heat treatment and cooling treatment immediately after thebottom coating treatment may be dividedly performed in a plurality oftreatment units. Further, the adhesion treatment and the coolingtreatment immediately after the adhesion treatment may be dividedlyperformed in a plurality of treatment units. Further, all of theabove-described treatments performed in the coating and developingtreatment system 1 may be dividedly performed, or any number of thosetreatments may be dividedly performed.

The present invention may also be applied to the treatment system forother substrates such as an FPD (Flat Panel Display), a mask reticle fora photomask, and the like other than the wafer. The present invention isuseful in suppressing variation among substrates in resist pattern.

1. A substrate treatment method for forming a resist pattern on asubstrate, comprising: at least a coating treatment of applying a resistsolution to the substrate, a substrate developing treatment, and asubstrate heat treatment, wherein at least any of said coatingtreatment, developing treatment, and heat treatment is performed bytransferring the substrates one by one in a predetermined order to aplurality of treatment units where the treatment is dividedly performed,provided in a casing, by a substrate transfer mechanism capable ofsuccessively transferring substrates in said plurality of treatmentunits.
 2. The substrate treatment method as set forth in claim 1,wherein the treatment dividedly performed in the plurality of treatmentunits comprises the coating treatment, and wherein, in the coatingtreatment, a discharge treatment of discharging the resist solution ontothe substrate, a spread treatment of rotating the substrate to spreadthe resist solution over the substrate, and a drying treatment of dryingthe substrate are performed in the respective treatment units.
 3. Thesubstrate treatment method as set forth in claim 2, wherein a treatmentof removing the resist solution at a peripheral portion of the substrateis performed in the treatment unit for performing the drying treatment.4. The substrate treatment method as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidtreatment dividedly performed in the plurality of treatment unitscomprises the developing treatment, and wherein, in the developingtreatment, a developing solution supply treatment of supplying adeveloping solution to the substrate, a cleaning solution supplytreatment of supplying a cleaning solution onto the substrate, and adrying treatment of drying the substrate are performed in the respectivetreatment units.
 5. The substrate treatment method as set forth in claim1, wherein the treatment dividedly performed in the plurality oftreatment units comprises the heat treatment, and wherein the heattreatment is performed in a plurality of heat treatment units forheating the substrate at the same temperature.